University of Virginia Health System researchers are confident that they have found a way to stop one a parasite that kills nearly 100,000 people around the world every year. The parasite does its work by attacking and killing human immune cells in a matter of seconds.

Entamoeba histolytica causes inflammation of the colon (colitis). After this amoeba has killed a person's immune cells it hides the evidence of its invasion by eating the cells' corpses, researchers say.

The team found a way to block a protein on the ameba's surface, which interferes with the way the parasite operates and prevents it from eating the corpse of the dead cell. This interferes with it colonizing and invading the stomach of the the person it has attacked.

"This means that we are a step closer to preventing this disease, which wreaks havoc among children worldwide," Dr. Petri, chief of the UVa Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, said in a statement.

Researchers announced their findings Thursday, the study results are published in the Jan. 18 issue of PLoS Pathogens, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science.